Puppy Love
by Lilly The Omega Wolf
Summary: Its just puppy love right? Ever since they first met as puppies, Humphrey and Kate hit it off. But what happens when puppy love between best friends turns into something more?
1. Chapter 1

A blanket of white covered trees, hills and valleys in the well kept territories of Jasper National Park. The chilly air had long since banished those that hibernated to their dens or sets. Noon day sun touched territories the western pack called home. For most of the pack, today was a day of rest, relaxation and staying out of the cold. A few omega wolves played in the snow together, ever joyful.

Near the western edge of the territory two grey wolves hurried along, their fur frozen from a long time traveling in the freezing cold. They bore a multitude of scratches, cuts and even a few bite marks near their necks, clear signs that both had been in a big fight with other wolves. The wounds were scabbed over but not yet truly healing, a sign that whatever had befallen the unfortunate family had happened within the last few days. Upon the back of the omega male, a young pup lay, seemingly at pace. The female omega wolf by his side crashed into the soft snow as her injured left foreleg gave out. Her mate skidded to a halt, careful not to dislodge the pup on his back, he hurried to assist.

"Come on dear, we have to find shelter," Silver, the male omega wolf pleaded.

"No... we're almost there, I can feel it," Blazer, the female omega stood slowly, favouring her foreleg and shook her head. "We have to keep going..." her eyes fell upon the sleeping pup.

Without another word, she stalked off, her mate followed obediently behind. Nothing but the soft sound of paws compacting the snow they trod on could be heard by the pair as they forced themselves onwards. The shewolf's head was bowed, her nose to the ground and her ears flattened as she struggled onwards to a place she had left long ago.

"Who goes there?" an authoritative voice rang out.

"My mate and I are hurt, we need shelter!" the omega who carried the pup urgently called back.

"This is the territory of the western pack. Outsiders are not welcome here," the owner of the voice appeared from behind a bush further up the hill. The young wolf was flanked by a grey-black companion who scowled at the pair.

"We mean you no harm, we are lone wolves and I only wish to see an old friend." The shewolf collapsed upon the snow once more.

"Who might that be?" the grey-black wolf challenged, his guard faltered as he realised the pair were seriously injured.

"Eve. I believe she is the alpha around here," the omega met the guards question lying down upon the frozen earth.

"You know Eve?" it was then the first wolf realised there was a young life on top of the male newcomer. "Quickly, follow me. Their den is not far."

"Wait, just let me help my mate up," the omega male nosed his way under his lover's left side, mindful of her crippled leg.

He used his head to assist her as she rose slowly. Rather than risk pushing her baby off, the shewolf slid down her companion's side to stand in the snow on three legs. She leant heavily against her mate and simply stood for a moment while she gathered her strength.

"Are you sure you can make it dear?" Silver asked, clearly worried for his mate's wellbeing.

The shewolf nuzzled her mate, their grey muzzles rubbed together warming their otherwise frozen bodies as they enjoyed the sweet contact. "I'm fine," while it was clear from the pain in her voice that she was anything but, it did not stop the mother wolf from leading off.

The pair remained seemingly glued together for support. The useless foreleg was tucked up where it could not accidentally come into contact with anything other than the soft icy coat of her mate.

The two guards lead the injured family toward the den of the alpha couple in charge of the pack. By the time they arrived, the couple looked shattered.

The grey-black wolf motioned for the pair to wait outside while they went in and informed the alpha's of their guests.

"We made it..." panted Blazer as she sank into a seated position.

Despite the fact that Silver felt ready to fall over, he lay protectively across his mate in an attempt at warming her frozen body. With a gentle shake of his head, the omega dislodged his sleeping son and placed him between his wife's forepaws. They both gazed down at their only remaining puppy who stretched and unleashed a yawn that was massive for a three week old. He snuggled into the forepaws of his parents, at peace despite his frosted over coat.

Without a word, Silver slowly began to clean the frost off his son. As soon as the worst of it was off, Silver stopped. He drew his son in closer so that both adults could enjoy the feel of their only child as he snuggled further into the warming embrace of his parents.

A shocked gasp broke the peace and quiet. "Blazer?"

The poorly wolf turned her gaze toward the speaker and smiled weakly, "yes and I'm home at last..."

"Quickly, come in. You two look terrible!"

The pair slowly rose, Silver used his body as his wife's support and picked up his son in his jaws. The pair made their way slowly into the warm confines of the alpha couple's cave. In one corner lay two puppies, one pure white and one golden orange. Both glanced up at newcomers. The white pup appeared happy to watch on while her sister rushed over to check the new puppy out as he was placed carefully upon the ground.

"You poor dears, what happened to you? I didn't know you found a mate," Eve questioned the omega shewolf who smiled warmly up at the alpha.

"This winter sucked," Blazer summarised as a shudder wracked her frame.

Silver lay across his mate once more, his forequarters placed over her for what little warmth he could offer.

"I do hope you two are married," Eve could not help but smile ruefully as her eyes fell upon the tiny wolf between the two adults. "Because it seems you both have been busy."

"Yes..." Blazer smiled back, "this here is Silver. My mate. We've known each other for about five seasons now. And this here," she indicated the wide eyed pup between her forelegs. "Is Humphrey. My last remaining son from our litter of four."

"Four?" Eve gasped, her gaze met her own mate's. She could not imagine how hard it must be to lose one, never mind three puppies.

Two other fluff balls caught the newcomers attention. Humphrey's gaze was fixed upon the golden puppy who watched him back with great interest. One tiny grey forepaw rose as he was about to rush over to greet her, then froze. Why was everyone looking at him?

"It's alright, I'm sure my daughter won't bite you." Eve smiled down at the bedraggled grey puppy.

Without needing to be told twice, Humphrey leapt up and raced over to the golden pup who wore an amused smile upon her face. "Wow... you're really pretty..." he whispered in awe as his gaze wandered the face of the beautiful youngster who giggled back at him.

"You're funny..." the golden pup managed before more giggles escaped.

"Dad always says omegas are supposed to be funny," he puffed out his chest, proud of what he considered a compliment. "I'm Humphrey by the way."

"I'm Kate," said wolf smiled warmly back at the fuzzy new puppy.

"I think someone's just made a new friend," commented Silver with a smile.

"I think so," agreed Winston.

"Who's the white one?" Humphrey asked as he pointed behind Kate.

"She's my sister, Lilly's a little shy," Kate answered.

With the eyes of everyone upon her, Lilly hunched down, her purple eyes scanned the den shyly. "Hi..." she managed softly.

"How about you three run along and find a sheltered spot to play, the grownups need to talk." Winston told the young wolves in the den.

"Why can't we stay?" Humphrey's head tilted inquisitively as he gazed adorably up at the large alpha wolf.

"This is only for us big wolves. Run along son," Silver instructed.

"Fine…" wined Humphrey. He gave his parents a quick nuzzle before rushing out after the two other puppies.

After the youngsters had left the den, Eve looked to her long time friend "Blazer, I can't even imagine what you are feeling right now. I'm so sorry," she apologised for her friends loss with tears in her eyes.

"It's not your fault Eve, I'm the one who left..." Blazer replied solemnly.

"It was a trio of rogue wolves who did it," Silver added bitterly. "Alphas. They hated us for being omegas and took it out on Humphrey's older brothers while we were hunting. There was... nothing- nothing at all that I could do..." the normally smiling omega's voice faltered with pain. "Neither Blazer or I am fighters we-"

"Where are they?! I'll rip off their ears and fed it to them!" pure and unrefined hatred flared in Eve's eyes, left eye twitched, never a good sign.

"A long way away I hope." Blazer squeezed her eyes shut to suppress the tears.

"We- came here because this was where Blazer said she grew up," Silver's eyes stung with slight incoming waterworks brought on by the loss of his pups.

"T-this was the only safe haven I could think of," the wounded omega slowly nuzzled her mate for support. Her tears disappeared into his soft hair as she continued to share the comforting gesture of love with her special omega.

"Did you manage to catch their leaders name?" despite his calm tone, there as a strong undercurrent of anger in Winston's voice.

"He called himself 'King' but that young alpha was nothing more than a bully. He would never dare get anywhere near your pack," Silver hugged his lover tighter, his tail swatted the rocky den floor angrily. It was about to rise again before it was suppressed by its fellow grey bushy companion.

"In any case, I think it would be best for us to increase our patrols. We don't want them sneaking in," the lead alpha looked to his mate for confirmation.

"I agree. In the meantime, I think it's best if you two get some rest and something I'll get you both something to eat," without waiting for a response, Eve left the den.

"Thank you..." murmured Blazer softly before another rough cough escaped.

"Hush dear. Get some rest, I'm sure she will be back soon," Silver comforted his mate.

"I do hope that cough is not contagious," Winston warily eyed the ill omega.

"I believe its not." Silver replied with confidence despite the look of concern he wore.

Winston nodded slowly, "in that case, I shall have a quick meeting with the other wolves in our pack and I'll send the pups back here."

"Thank you," Blazer smiled up at her ex-pack member.

"I could never turn away a friend, or a pup in need. You two just happen to have both," with a brief smile, Winston left.

Several peaceful moments passed, the silence only broken by the odd cough from Blazer as she fought to rest.

Two sets of ears pricked up at the sound of approaching pawsteps. Soon after the smell of fresh meat wafted in, causing both lone wolves to discover miniature earthquakes in their tummies.

"Here you go." Eve set the meal down in front of the pair.

Without needing to be told twice, the famished couple dug into the meat before them. Eve watched with concern as they ate, her eyes only leaving them at the sound of tiny paws approaching. Pint-sized invaders of cuteness barrelled into the den, the trio all wore broad smiles upon the muzzles.

"Mom!" both girls rushed to their mother who smiled down in return.

"I hope you all had fun out there," Eve did her best to fix the roughed up hair on Kate's head as the pup rushed around her mother.

"We did!" Kate responded eagerly.

Silver paused his meal to meet his excited son's gaze, "how was that son?"

"It was so much fun! I like having other puppies to play with again!" Humphrey grinned.

Silver gave his mate a sad glance. He wished his son still had their puppies to play with as well as the two new friends his son had appeared to have just made.

"Hey dad, watch this!" Humphrey turned and rushed the golden pup. He pounced on her and the pair rolled around the floor of the den, rapidly filling the place with giggles and cries of delight.

All three parents watched on with smiles that only broadened when the shy white pup worked up the courage to throw herself into the fluffy ball of cute that had come to a stop. Humphrey only had a moment to relish his victory at being the pup on top before something plush, white and skinny impacted with his side and sent him tumbling.

"No fair!" Humphrey cried as he jumped up once more to face the second sister.

"I'm sorry... did I interrupt something?" Lilly asked shyly.

"Yes, now come here!" the grey omega puppy rushed at the pure white wolf who shrieked and sprinted off. The three puppies chased each other around the adults. After several laps, Lilly collapsed in a panting heap.

Kate gave one final burst of speed as she and Humphrey raced between her mother's forelegs. She leapt into the air and caught the soft grey tail with her teeth. As Kate crashed to the ground, her forepaws wildly swiped at the air in front of her and she managed to snag one of Humphrey's back legs. The omega promptly discovered firsthand what the the floor tasted like, "Oomph!"

The troublesome duo lay there, the tip of the grey puppy's tail still in the mouth of the golden one as they recovered from their explosive game around the cave.

"Now there's something I don't see every day," Eve commented with a smile.

Blazer laughed looking at the two, now shattered pups on the ground.

"Hey Kate?" Humphrey asked through ragged breaths.

"Yeah?" Kate replied, with an equal amount of exhaustion evident in her voice.

"Could you let go of my tail please? It's sore." Humphrey pleaded to his new best friend.

"Aww, I'm sorry," she relinquished the grey fluffy tail from her maw.

The released fluffy appendage wagged happily and Humphrey smiled as he stood. "Thanks. Now I feel like nap time."

"You can say that again." Kate commented as she trailed her companion.

Lilly quietly found her way over to the far end of the cave first and lay down. By the time the other two had made it over, the white puppy appeared to be sleeping. Kate lay down beside her sister and closed her eyes.

Humphrey stood uncertainly by as Kate relaxed. His eyes followed the slow movements of his new friends tummy as she breathed. Despite his apparent inability to lie down nearby, the sight was oddly calming to him and he found himself breathing in time with her.

"You know, I remember telling you that she wont bite," Eve spoke up. "You're allowed to sleep here too."

"Okay, cool," the young omega pulled himself out of his trance then promptly lay down close beside Kate.

After a few moments, Humphrey was sure his amazing new friend had fallen asleep. He shuffled over till he was right beside her. As he relaxed into her soft golden side his tail began to wag. Poof, poof, poof. The fluffy grey tail impacted lightly with the golden backside of his companion.

A smirk appeared on Kate's muzzle, "not asleep yet."

Humphrey froze. That was bad, he was not supposed to get caught snuggling up to her. He glared back at his traitorous tail that refused to stop. A soft giggle escaped Kate. He was about to pull away in defeat when two strong puppy forepaws pulled him closer as their owner rolled over onto her side. A delighted grin erupted across his muzzle. This was not something he had been expecting, yet here his companion was, returning his cheeky affection. As the haze of sleep began to cloud his mind, the young omega decided his new friend truly was amazing. Right now, all he wanted was to spend the rest of his life like this, with her.

Kate was clearly spooning the omega. The sleeping pair both bore smiles upon the faces that could melt the heart of almost any grown wolf. They certainly seemed to have that effect upon all who were present and awake. Everyone wore smiles that mirrored the puppies joy. It was infectious and none of the grown ups tried to fight the light fluffy feeling.

"You know... I never imagined my son would play little spoon to a girl," chucked Silver as he observed the pair who arrived in the land of dreams.

"You always do the same with me," Blazer quietly reminded her mate with a sly smile upon her muzzle.

"Well he is sleeping with an alpha," Eve informed the couple. "Of course she will take charge."

"Who is?" all three adults turned to find Winston had just entered the den.

"Ssssh," Eve cautioned her mate. "Don't they look cute?"

A soft chuckle escaped the alpha male as he beheld his alpha daughter cuddling her first boy. At their age, it was easy to forget that there was a rank difference between the two puppies. "I have a feeling Humphrey will be missed when you two are strong enough to move on."

"H-he's staying if that's alright by you," Blazer looked to the alpha with a pleading expression.

The two alpha's gave their old pack member an odd look of surprise.

"Does that mean you wish to return to this pack officially?" Winston asked.

"No," the grey shewolf shook her head. "Not us. The two of us are lone wolves, I don't think I could ever adjust to pack life again. But could you raise our son? I have not seen him this happy since… since-" a sob escaped Blazer and she fell into tearful silence.

"I understand," consoled Winston.

"I would be honoured to help raise your pup," Eve spoke up, "but please do come back for the wee dear one day." Her gaze drifted from her ex-pack member to the grey puppy who slept peacefully upon the floor of the den.

"I would love to visit," Blazer smiled a sad smile, her eyes upon the puppies too.

"We cannot promise when that would be, lone wolves are not always popular around other packs and it leads to unsafe travels in many territories." Silver advised. "All I ask is that you help raise him into an omega like his parents, we do not wish the life of an alpha for him, nor do I consider him material to be an alpha."

Eve nodded, "that should be easy enough. My daughter Lilly is also an omega, he can learn with her."

"She's the gold one?"

"No."

"Then you might have to watch out, I think he may have taken a liking to the golden one," a cheeky smile appeared upon Silver's muzzle.

A suddenly engaged growl escaped Eve as she faced the omega male, "it had better be a friendly liking. I would hate to find myself raising an adoptive daughter, instead of a son." Her harsh exterior faded as her gaze returned to the sleeping ball of fluffy innocence.

Silver stared at the alpha female, shocked. "Sorry, I was just trying to be funny, but I'm also serious. If my son is anything like me, he might have trouble understanding the meaning of no, if you get what I mean," he met Winston's eyes with a hint of a smile.

"I think I do," Winston smiled back. "Since you both wish for him to be an omega, it should be easy enough to remind him that the most they can be is friends."

"And don't they make the cutest pair of new friends?" Blazer spoke up, a fond smile upon her muzzle.

"Yes they do," agreed Eve.

The alpha made her way over to the puppy who had no one to cuddle. She sat down, Lilly between her forepaws and proceeded to slowly encase her precious white pup in a loose hug. The sleeping beauty nuzzled her mother. Golden forelegs pulled the fluffy white package close and there she held her. Eve rested her head upon one foreleg and allowed the side of her neck to be used as her daughters pillow.

Winston warmly smiled at the display, he made his way over and lay down next to his mate. "As long as there's no funny business, you two are welcome to stay in here with us until you get better."

"Thank you for your kind offer," Blazer replied, "are you sure? We do not wish to intrude."

"You might as well spend all the time you can with your son before you go."

"I'm up for that," announced Silver. The omega promptly collapsed with a cheeky grin upon his face.

"Don't do that, you might hurt yourself," scolded the cheeky omega's mate as she carefully placed herself by her wounded lover's side.

Despite their injuries, the couple relaxed and as one, they closed their eyes in the hope of rest.

"You know, I think our lives just got a whole lot more interesting," noted Winston quietly to his mate.

"I think so too dear," Eve nuzzled her daughter who now wore a blissful smile upon her muzzle.

* * *

It was early morning two weeks later that Blazer and Sliver quietly left the Western pack's land. Despite the freezing air and soft snow, the couple struck out with determination. Neither would ever forget their son's cute face as they both said what could be their final goodbyes to him.

"I hope we get to see him again soon," Blazer broke the cold silent atmosphere with her soft voice.

"I do too, but you know it might be be a long time before we are able to make it back."

"I know..." Blazer trailed off, her tail between her legs.

Despite feeling certain that she had done the best for her son by leaving him behind, the mother wolf could not help but miss him. It already felt like they had been apart for months, yet it had only been hours ago when she had last seen his teeny cute grey face and adorable smile.

"Can we go faster?" Blazer asked her mate.

The omega in question gave his lover an inquisitive look.

"I just... its so hard leaving our only remaining son behind... can we just get it over with and get as far away as we can?"

"Do you have any place in mind my dear?" Silver slowed down to better grace his lover with his gaze.

"Out of Jasper... anywhere."

"Alaska... Idaho..." Silver began listing off places they could visit.

"Idaho sounds good love. It's already freezing, Alaska sounds like a bad idea."

"Idaho it is," Sliver turned and tentatively sniffed the air. "It's that way, I think... but another pack lies between us and them. I think we should take the long way around, just to be safe."

Blazer nodded in agreement as she resolutely set off.

"You lead, I'll follow…" Sliver mock grumbled to himself.

"Don't I usually lead?" it was not really a question, Blazer knew who normally took the lead in their travels together. After all, her mate was usually very good at getting them lost, not that she minded. Aside from when his sense of direction wound them up on another pack's land, the detours involved were often a lot of fun and it was worth it to poke fun at her prankster of a husband.

"You would think I know the way to my own home..." Silver grumbled to himself.

"I heard that Mr lets-get-lost-for-a-few-days," a playful nuzzle followed the shewolf's words.

Silver rolled his eyes, "you know you like it."

* * *

After many hours and a mixture of walking, running and even one occasion of playing together in the snow, the weather had began to deteriorate.

"I think we need to find shelter soon," commented Blazer.

Silver simply nodded and kept pace while Blazer fought the burn in her shoulder as they pressed onwards.

* * *

That night all the wolves in Jasper park hunkered down for a rough night. Many feet of snow fell and many wolves had to fight to keep their dens clear of the freezing substance.

Morning could not come quickly enough and while youngsters rushed out to play in the freshly fallen snow, their parents to watch over them with smiles.

This day also marked the second day of two wolves journey out into the wilds beyond. Toward a homeland Silver had not visited since he had left. While Sliver knew it would be easy enough to avoid his old pack, he could not help but wonder what the small group would think of his wonderful wife if they did happen to meet. His mother would be sure to love Humphrey if ever she laid eyes upon him. The only problem with that was that Humphrey was now far away.

As the couple made their way over the boundary of the park and looked back one last time.

"Good bye my son..." Blazer whispered. "Good luck."

* * *

 **A/N: At last my first A &O story is getting posted! **  
**Its been over a year and a half since I started writing this story and it feels wonderful to at last start posting things up.**


	2. Chapter 2

Mid morning sun filtered down through the trees and illuminated a young golden wolf as she strolled through the forest, headed to meet a certain omega wolf that she had been meeting with for over a month now. They never really had a schedule for their visits, they would just come out here to a private place they found and hang out when they knew each other would be free.

The young omega in question was currently engaged in a thrilling ride as he slid down a mountainside on a small, hollowed-out log. He unleashed a joyful cry as his temporary mode of transport gained air from a small rock jutting up from the ground. With a thump he ungainly landed his log on a lower down slope. His eyes grew wide as he realised he had landed in the middle of a grove and was speeding toward a big tree. He twisted and turned as he fought to control his ride, and to his relief his log turned just enough to avoid the tree in his path. he narrowly swung past three more trees almost losing his head to the low branches before his ride swept to the right. He shot out of the grove like a bullet only for his ride to explode as it came into contact with a small boulder.

"Ouch! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." He complained to himself as he lay there on the soft grass.

Maybe it would have been a better idea to find his buddies before he attempted too many stunts in one morning. Still, it would have been worth it if he had encountered his best friend. He had hoped that today would be the day he could show his latest aerial log manoeuvres to Kate. That would impress her.

A sigh escaped him. Maybe it wasn't to be. With a heave he slowly lifted himself from the ground and dusted his pelt off. Despite his failure, hope still resided inside. Hope that he would still find Kate and be able to show off to her. She needed to experience the meaning of fun and he knew that he, Humphrey was the best wolf to show her. Of course, if Eve ever discovered him trying any of his stunts out on her daughter it would be a one way ticket to trouble. He may even lose a limb or two if her mood swung the wrong way.

With a final check that he was looking good and that his hair was all in order he gave a final fidget for good measure. The young wolf was about to stride off in search of his special friend when he heard a noise form behind him. Then someone spoke up, Humphrey froze, unable to believe his ears.

* * *

A golden wolf was making her way to the usual meeting spot for her and her friend. As Kate walked, she observed her surroundings, the area around her was quite nice. A few hills here and there, lots of trees and flowers, Humphrey barreling down a hill in a log...

Wait. Humphrey barreling down a hill in a log?

Kate winced as the log exploded on impact with a large rock. The poor wolf who had been upon the wood flew through the air, only to make contact with the ground seconds later with a loud thud.

"Ouch! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." Kate found herself rooted to the spot, unable to help her best friend.

Humphrey sighed and slowly picked himself up. The young alpha released a breath she didn't even know she had held. Good, he was okay. Or at least, okay by his standards. Her smile beamed like a ray of sun as she watched him dust himself down. He stretched several parts of his body. Small cracks and pops were heard as tension was released from his joints.

Without a sound she padded toward him, as if she were stalking small prey. Kate stopped and grinned with amusement as her best friend began to look over himself. He made sure every aspect of his body was in order, he even licked his paw and brought it over his head, brushing back some of his messy fur.

After he finished his final check and turned to resume his journey, Kate suppressed a giggle. "You look really cute when you do that." The young alpha froze. She didn't say that out loud did she?

Humphrey's head turned slowly, unbelievingly toward the source of the compliment. There was no way anyone could ever call him cute, was there? But from the moment his eyes met her amazing orbs, Humphrey knew he had not imagined those words.

A lopsided grin appeared on the young omegas face. "H-hi Kate!" great one there! He reprimanded himself. Of course you just had to go and stutter! That would have to be the worst time to get nervous in front of the most amazing wolf in the world.

 _'_ _Try again.'_ Humphrey took a deep breath. "Hey there Kate... what are you doing all the way out here?"

"Hey yourself, you know why I'm out here. To meet you silly," giggled the young alpha. Kate found it so adorable when he tried to act cool.

Humphrey laughed back, "well then you must have seen my skills, log-sledding."

"I saw you crash into a rock," the young alpha corrected with a smug grin, her concern for her companion temporally hidden under her sass.

Humphrey was thankful for his fur colour, as he was sure that, if it were any other colour, Kate would be able to see him blush right through it "well you know, log sledding without a team is a lot of hard work."

"And why don't you have your team?" the young she-wolf questioned.

"They...uhh...they-they had to be somewhere. Yeah, yeah thats it! They had to go and do something for...uhh...someone?" he replied, the last part sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Were you trying to show off... to me?" Kate asked innocently as she batted her eyes at her best friend, "because you know... it nearly was cool."

"Really?" Humphrey brightened up immediately. There was nothing better right now than hearing her say he was cool.

Kate gave her companion a cheeky grin, "nearly."

"Right." If there was one thing Kate was good at, it was bringing him back down to earth whenever his ego got too big.

Kate approached the crashable wolf and gave him a hug. "I bet that crash really hurt."

"Oh, it wasn't too bad," Humphrey fended off with his best attempt at sounding cool.

"Really? Because, those cracks I heard when you stretched sounded painful," she shot back with a grin.

"Those...? Those are nothing. Just working out a few kinks from the last fifty times the boys and I crashed." He did his best to keep his facade of cool but could it was breaking fast.

Kate's gaze traveled from his face to examine the rest of his body, "I see, well let me just check to make sure nothing is out of place." Kate felt the sides of her muzzle heat up as the lithe form of her companion shifted nervously from side to side.

Seeing as his friend wasn't monitoring where his own vision was directed, Humphrey allowed his own gaze to shift. The golden beauty before him took his breath away as her fur ruffled in the wind, the sun illuminated her fur in such a way that she looked like she was glowing, like an angel. Without waiting for permission from his brain, Humphrey's eyes fell upon the flank of his companion. A goofy grin appeared as he drank in the sights. After a few moments of enjoying the sights, he realised something. Kate's gaze had returned to his face. Whoops!

Humphrey forced his eyes back to where they were supposed to be and cocked his head to the side.

"Where you just looking at my-" Kate faltered. She had no idea how to continue. It was impossible to say that to his cute face. At about 4 months old, he was probably too young and innocent to understand what he was doing anyway.

"Your...?" Humphrey drew the single word out. He was curious to know the rest to Kate's sentence.

"Never mind," Kate dismissed the subject and moved on. "We should hurry if we want to get to our meadow soon." she said, walking past him and swatting him with her golden tail.

"Yeah we probably should." Humphrey replied, barely paying attention. He loved hearing that word, 'our.' Our meadow, our special place, our den, our pups, woah Humphrey stop that! You know she doesn't like you like that, he scolded himself as he quickly ran over to Kate. _'We're friends remember. Alpha and Omega. Nothing more.'_

With a smirk on her face and a delighted wag in her tail, Kate led the way further into the woods. She knew from the tickle of his muzzle against the tip of her tail that her friend would follow her. It was cute how he would follow with a smitten look on his muzzle whenever she performed this action.

Humphrey felt tingles race across his body as his mate's tail graced his face with its touch as it swayed back and forth. A dreamy sigh escaped as his mind drifted elsewhere once more. Sadly it wasn't mate as in lover, for now at least. They were too young and then there was the problem of rank. She was sadly confined to the same definition as the rest of his omega packmates, friends.

As the two young wolves wandered off, tails playfully entwined, a set of purple eyes observed the spectacle, hidden further up the hill.

 _'_ _I wish I had someone like that,'_ the watcher pined to herself. They just looked so happy together. The young white wolf was sure that despite their age, if Humphrey were an alpha, the pair would be well on their way toward their wedding day by now.

As the playful couple disappeared from view, Lilly laid her head upon the soft grass with a sigh. It looked as if she was destined for another day alone. As she lay there a thought occurred to her. Mom would do something bad to Humphrey if the two young wolves were ever caught like this. Her overprotective mom would be sure to assume... things. While they were still pups, they were growing up fast and were sure to discover for themselves what she could already see from her perch. Maybe she should follow and make sure no one else discovered them alone. In any case, Lilly decided would give her something better to do than await her sister's return.

With that, Lilly picked herself up and stealthily tracked the two youngsters who had run off playing together as best she could.

* * *

 **Short chapter is short. I wanted to get something out as a update. Kate and Humphrey are now around 4 months old the the best of friends. But where are they going? And is Kate's mother going to discover the pair? What happened to Humphrey's parents? If you aren't asking these questions and more, then I've probably failed as an author. But if you are, awesome :) this is still a fair way off where the movie itself begins, so theres plenty more action and cute stuff to come.**

 **Feedback would be greatly appreciated as it will encourage me to update faster and fill me in on what is or isn't working thus far. I'm in the middle of doing tweaks and** **rewrites to chapter 3 so theres a chance another update isn't too far off.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Kate! I'll race you there!" Humphrey called out his challenge as he ran down the hill.

"You know you can't beat me. I'm the fastest alpha alive," Kate shot back playfully.

"Well, I'm the fastest omega alive!" The young grey wolf declared as he sailed across a log. As soon as he landed, he glanced back at his best friend as she gracefully leapt over the log too, hot on his tail. She looked amazing in action and he couldn't help but admire her for a moment.

"Humphrey, look out!"

The warning caused the young wolf to immediately look ahead once more and his eyes went wide in surprise. Paws skidded and slid upon the soft earth as he narrowly missed the tree in his way.

"I knew that was there," Humphrey scoffed.

Kate rolled her eyes as she easily pulled up alongside her companion, "whatever."

Humphrey put on a silly face then blew a raspberry at his competitor as she began to outpace him. Kate poked her tongue out at her best friend in reply. The fun-loving omega pulled an even crazier face in return, ecstatic at having captured his companions attention.

A solid thwack rang out and Kate saw stars. She realised her forelegs were stuck out in front of her in an awkward fashion, almost wrapped around the young tree she had impacted with. She scowled at the wolf who had come to a halt just in front of her, felled from laughing too hard.

"You should have seen your face!" Humphrey lay on the soft grass, his gaze locked with his angel who had collided with the tree.

Golden locks flew as their owner shook her head, "you distracted me!"

"Now why would I do that?" Humphrey feigned innocence.

With a brisk shake of her head, Kate dislodged herself from the tree. She stalked up to her companion. "I don't know... maybe because you wanted to see me crash?"

"Oh really?"

Instead of immediately replying, Kate pounced upon her best friend who cried out in surprise. She pinned him to the ground and smiled victoriously down at her catch. Suddenly she found herself thrown into the air as Humphrey pushed her off with his hind legs. The young alpha kept a hold on her companion with her forelegs and accidentally brought him into a sort of hug.

Humphrey found his momentum used against him when his body moved with Kate's. He landed on top of her once more only to realize they had hit a steep downhill section. The young omega's surprised cry turned to laughter as he hugged his best friend back and allowed himself to be carried down the hill in a tumbling ball of immature wolf.

Laughter rang out from both as the two youngsters continued to roll down the hill together. They flipped head over heels faster and faster, till they landed together in a bed of multicoloured flowers, Humphrey on top, Kate on the bottom. They basked in each other's smiles of delight. Neither noticed the compromising position they lay in.

Humphrey was on top of the world. Here he was with his best friend. Alone. Although his head spun a little from the roll, it failed to deter the feelings that welled up inside. He felt joy, happiness and outright delight alongside a more alien feeling in there too. It started as butterflies in his tummy and spread in light tingles to the rest of his young frame. It had recently become a regular sensation to feel around Kate and it felt nice. Strange, but defiantly nice. The stunning golden wolf under him took his breath away as she smiled slyly up at him. All the young omega managed to return was a goofy grin.

Something inside Kate called for action. She retained her sly smile as she leaned up toward the wolf on top. She felt him tense up, surprised as her muzzle brushed against his. Her wet nose dampened the edge of his fuzzy left ear. It gave a delightful twitch and caused a wash of strange nerves to invade her system. She unleashed a light giggle as she felt her special friend relax. Her nose trailed down the side of his face till it came to rest nose to nose.

The touch was only brief yet electric. Both young wolves felt the magic as they shared their first brief nose kiss. Humphrey's cute, surprised face quickly turned into a pleased grin. Kate relaxed against the soft bed of flowers and grass they lay upon. With an immature giggle, she gazed up into the clear blue eyes of her best friend. She defiantly felt happy with the action but there was something more to it as well. This something more felt ...nice. Kate supposed she would come to understand such feelings better one day.

Humphrey could not believe what was happening. He had just nose kissed his best friend. As he gazed into her stunning brown eyes he felt his heart skip a beat. After a small eternity of blissfully gazing into his friend's eyes, he slowly, regretfully sat up.

Kate rose slowly, still a little stunned by her own actions. "I think we are close. Let's go."

"Sur- sure thing." Humphrey's body jerked into action as his brain remembered to do something other than dumbly staring after the cute angel before him.

The pair of pups wandered in silence for a few moments, content to simply enjoy each others company. Neither had any idea how to approach the subject of what whatever it was that just happened.

Kate stole a glance at her companion and was glad to see that he had seemed to forget about their little moment back there. That was good. It would be awkward right now if things were suddenly different between them because of it. It was then she paused and gave the air a tentative sniff. Was that her sister she smelled? Nahh It couldn't be, could it? There was no way Lilly would be brave enough to come this close to the border of their land.

"Kate, what is it?" Humphrey asked curiously.

"I thought I smelt something. It's probably nothing." A final sniff confirmed her words. Funny, she was sure she had smelt her sister for a moment.

"Good thing its nothing, because guess what? We're here."

The young alpha silently paced up to her friend's side and gazed out across the small lake with a smile "still as beautiful as the day we found it." she stated.

"Yeah, beautiful," Humphrey said dreamily as his gaze wandered, it landed on Kate. A goofy grin formed on his muzzle.

Kate once again caught her friend staring and decided to call him out on it for fun "ok, why do you keep on staring at me?"

"Uh… me?" A bashful smile broke out across his muzzle and he forced himself to look away. "You- you must be dreaming, I was just admiring all of ...this!" The young wolf gestured to their peaceful surrounds.

"Yea right, silly."

"Fine. Come on then, cute stuff!" Humphrey rushed toward the water, eager to douse his companion.

Kate followed, wary of any incoming tricks. As soon as she reached the shoreline she sat, her attention upon her companion. The young omega took his place at her side and gazed out across the lake.

"You know... this place really could use..." Humphrey trailed off as he wrapped a foreleg around his best friend. "Some excitement!" The young omega shoved with a sudden burst of speed and strength only to find himself face planted in the cold water.

Kate laughed as she pushed Humphrey further in, "I knew you were going to try something."

"You know me too well," with a grin, Humphrey submerged himself to a level where Kate wouldn't be able to see him from above the water and started to swim to the edge of the lake where he carefully held himself in waiting.

After several moments passed and no further sign of her companion was seen, Kate, on the other hand, was starting to get worried. "Humphrey? If this is a joke, it is NOT funny!"

Despite the burn that grew within, the submerged omega held on. He could faintly see her form as she gazed frantically across the deep lake's surface and decided now was the perfect opportunity. He pushed up from the lakebed, with a mighty heave and erupted from the water, "surprise!"

Humphrey wrapped his forelegs around his target and pulled his shocked companion in with him. Water exploded everywhere as the two pups briefly thrashed . With ragged breaths, he reclined on his back, Kate on top.

The young alpha splashed water at her best friend, "don't do that, you scared me to death!" she shoved her companion lightly and lost her balance. With a surprised yelp, she found herself completely submerged next to him.

"Awww, someone cares about me, do they?" Humphrey grinned as she resurfaced next to him.

"Maybe," Kate paddled alongside him, a shy grin upon her muzzle. "But that doesn't mean I won't do this!"

In a sudden move, Kate erupted out of the water and pushed Humphrey back under.

The pair quickly resurfaced and Kate took the opportunity to immediately splash her companion.

"Hey!" Humphrey shook the water out of his face only to receive another mouthful of unwanted water. "Alright, you asked for it!"

Humphrey used his forepaws to splash his companion and within moments the small lake had erupted into a water fight between the two young wolves.

"Alright!" Out of breath, the omega finally ceased his assault. "You- win."

"What" Kate coyly asked as she splashed her companion one last time. Did I just hear the mighty Humphrey admit defeat?"

"To you? Just this once."

A pleased grin plastered itself across Kate's face as she lead the paddle toward shore.

As soon as the duo reached the shore, Kate pulled them both out and plonked her troublesome companion upon the shore. Humphrey lay on his back and gave his alpha a cute, pouty face, head tilted slightly in a way he knew Kate could not resist. A half amused smile broke out in return.

Golden fur stood on end as Kate suddenly shook herself dry. A grumpy mumble reached her ears as flecks of water deposited themselves on the already wet omega.

"Now, get up," Kate prompted, she nudged her friend's damp shoulder in an effort to encourage him to stand.

"Do I have to?" He asked sending another one of his cheeky grins her way.

"Yes you do, or I'll throw you back in there," Kate smirked back.

"You wouldn't do that."

"Oh yes, I would."

"Oh no, you wouldn't!"

Kate gave her best friend a pointed smirk, then to prove herself right she knelt down and grasped a certain soggy grey tail in her powerful jaws.

"ohhh, Not the tail!"

"Ge' up den," Kate replied, her voice muffled by the damp fluff she held.

"oww, ok, ok I'll get up just let go of my tail, I like it and want to keep it."

Without any further fight, Kate dropped her companions tail. "I guess my future mate should keep his lovely tail," she conceded.

Two grey and black ears perked up as their owner realized what his companion had just said.

Kate froze too as the implications of her words dawned on her.

"You... you really mean...?" Humphrey felt as if his brain were malfunctioning. Mates? Not just best friends, but real married mates? That would be so cool. They could spend forever together, having fun and running the pack and doing... well hopefully not boring adult things.

"No. ...of course not. I mean, yes. No. ...Just forget I ever said that. Okay?" Kate took a deep breath to calm her suddenly racing mind. "What I meant to say was my future leader of the pack's omegas. Otherwise known as my best mate, you know... my best friend." Okay, maybe that sounded a whole lot better and less weird in her head the second before she said it.

The hopeful omega's ears flattened.

Still frazzled, Kate took a tentative step toward the drenched omega, Kate took her time to figure out how her mouth had let such a sentence slip out. He definitely was her best friend. He had been special ever since the day she had met him. But mates? Sure she wanted Humphrey by her side forever, and he was a lot of fun to be around. Another less welcome thought stuck the young alpha. He was an omega. There was no way the two of them would be allowed to marry. Besides, they were still pups and marriage was the domain of wolves far older than themselves. Her gaze wandered in tune with her mind till she found herself gazing into the hopeful deep blue eyes of the wolf in front of her. The cute tepid look upon his muzzle as he waited for an answer to his unfinished question.

But what did it matter, they were young, they had at least a year to figure it out before her father would mention marriage. That should give them both plenty of time to figure something out.

A sense of tranquillity washed over her along with the realization that the two of them just might be able to become mates after all. Maybe she could talk to father and get him to change the law. Kate paced forward and slowly moved her muzzle towards his and gave him a quick kiss on his muzzle. The contact was short but it was a feeling she would remember forever

For a moment it appeared as if she had shorted out his brain with her gesture.

The lovestruck omega leaned toward his alpha and touched noses and together they held onto a sweet nose kiss.

All too soon the moment ended and the pair of youngsters pulled away, silly grins plastered upon their muzzles.

A cheeky grin sprouted across the muzzle of Humphrey and Kate wondered with trepidation what he was up to. A mighty barrage of water hit the mostly dry alpha as Humphrey shook himself.

"Look at your face! You look so funny" Humphrey laughed, not even paying attention to his now poofed out fur

"What about you?" Kate shot back. "You look so silly with your coat like that," the young alpha proceeded to break into a fit of giggles.

The two youngsters continued to laugh together for a few moments before Humphrey regained his composure, at least somewhat.

"Well, then we both look silly," the cheeky omega poked his tongue out at his companion.

Kate gave her coat a brisk shake to dislodge the unwelcome water her best friend had donated her. As she finished, the golden wolf caught her grey companion staring at her puffed up fur.

"Come on Humphrey, I know you like me but I'm still a wolf, not a piece of eye candy, although…" she said giving her companion a sly smile "since it's you, I guess you can stare all you want."

Humphrey blushed deeply before explaining his actions. "Sorry, but the way your fur is all poofy and stuff," Humphrey reached out and lamely patted her ruffled mane.

The young omega leaned forwards and touched his nose to his companion's golden ear. "You look extra cute like that."

"So do you," Kate couldn't help but return the compliment. She chose that moment to walk off toward the shade of trees at the edge of the forest.

Humphrey hurried to keep up with his companion. "Want to join me for a quick nap?" he asked as he searched for the most comfortable looking place to take a quick kip.

"You mean you, Humphrey, king of the omegas, doesn't want to play another game?" teased Kate as she observed her companion.

"We omegas like our nap times too ya know," the youngster defended his decision.

"So that's why you guys never get anything useful done," smirked Kate.

"Hey! we get stuff done like… uh… log sledging, having fun, and uh... stuff. Besides, we do what we do well." He stated proudly

"Play games and sleep?" offered the golden wolf.

Humphrey sighed in defeat "yeah I guess you're right."

"Well do you want to sleep with me then?" Humphrey asked hopefully.

Kate felt her muzzle heat as she realised there was probably a second meaning to it. The kind of meaning her mother would imply to her father. That had been too much information for a growing pup to overhear.

"What? did I do something?" Humphrey innocently asked as he noticed his companion's blush, still hopeful that he would receive a positive reply.

Kate realised it was just Humphrey, there was no way it could possibly hold a hidden meaning to him. The young alpha nodded, "I think it would be lovely to sleep with my cute omega."

The golden wolf giggled as her companion perked up at her reply. She stalked slowly up to him then lay down on the soft grass at the base of a mighty tree.

"Okay, there's good," Humphrey found himself in agreement with his best friend.

He settled down beside the resting angel, unsure how close he was allowed to lie.

His answer, however, came in the form of Kate as she pulled him closer and tucked her head into his chest fur. His mind buzzed with all sorts of excitement as he enjoyed the brush of her fur against his own.

Kate simply relaxed into his hold, her forelegs wrapped further around the sleek form of her very own omega.

A young albino wolf peeked out from the cover of the forest. There they were! Her sister and Humphrey, they were- sleeping together? She paused, unable to believe her eyes. Yet even her nose was sure that the two young wolves before her were her sister and her sister's best friend.

With great care, the white wolf approached the pair. After all the effort of tracking the duo, she had at least hoped to find them active. She allowed her gaze to sweep the lakeside and the raw natural beauty took the nature lover's breath away. Her jaw loose in wonder she drew toward the sparkling lake. It called to her, so refreshing and cool after her long walk. She approached and took a brief drink from the life-giving liquid. Lilly felt a refreshing wave wash over her as she drank. The feeling persisted even after she had taken her fill.

She turned deep purple eyes to gaze once more at the couple behind her. Or at least, that is what they looked like, a cute young couple. Despite the fact that they were alpha and omega they sure looked happy, all cuddled up together in a two pup ball of fluff. Lilly gazed cautiously around, checking that no other creatures were in the vicinity. Sitting on the border, meant another pack was probably nearby. If they were seen by another pack at a possible drinking hole that would be bad. It might even start trouble between the two packs. Her parents would not like that at all.

A sigh of relief escaped the young omega wolf. Now her mother would really kill Humphrey if she were to discover the two together like this. With that thought in mind, Lilly slowly paced toward the couple and positioned herself watchfully over them. It might not be the best job, but the least she could do was watch over her sister and her ...special friend.

 _'Should I wake them?'_ Lilly wondered to herself. _'I know Humphrey would not like it.'_ She raised her right forepaw to prod the pair into the waking world and paused. _'Maybe just a few more moments... they do look happy together. I wonder what it would be like, to have someone special to share moments like this with?'_ A light smile broke out on her muzzle as she refocused on the pair. At least the two were cute together and her sister sure did seem happy.

After a few more moments, the omega found herself becoming restless and her mind and vision wandered off.

Her eyes sparkled with delight as she beheld the flowers that dotted the treeline nearby. There was almost every colour of the rainbow, however, something else caught her eye about the treeline, there was movement. Someone was coming.


	4. Chapter 4

The young white wolf kept her eye on the movement in the treeline across the clearing. She crouched low and slowly reached out to wake her sister. Lilly knew this lake was the border to the eastern pack's territory, if the movement did turn out to be a wolf they were going to be very unhappy about them maybe trespassing and even more so at the fact that there appeared to be an alpha and omega relationship going on against pack law.

 _'It is a wolf!'_

Lilly forced herself down into the grass as flat as possible. She poked her sister in a hasty attempt at waking her then froze. The brown fluff that strode along with his head held high was a young wolf about her age. The cute stranger rushed at a tree and kicked off it. He sailed through the air and landed gracefully in the middle of the treeline. He held what Lilly thought looked like a cool pose for a moment then leaped up once more. He sprung from tree, grass, tree, grass, tree then landed flat on his face. A cute little 'oomph' rang out across the clearing. Lilly stifled a giggle and tensed, ready to leap into action to help when she saw the stranger slowly rise and shake himself off. He glanced back the way he came, as if to check that no one had followed him or seen his mistake. He definitely was a cutie!

Lilly held her breath and lowed herself once more as the stranger approached the small lake and stood almost exactly where she had just moments ago. The brown coated stranger drank his fill and the young she-wolf found herself admiring this well-toned pup. He looked ...nice, muscular, brawny... _perfect_. The stranger suddenly sniffed the ground and Lilly froze, their scents had just been discovered.

Lilly briskly gave her sister another poke, with no answer, she scampered off to hide in denser bush. This new wolf looked nice. Hopefully, he would see the two sleeping pups and just leave them alone.

"Whoever you are you have to the count of 3 to show yourself!" yelled the unknown wolf "One! Two! ...Three! Okay, you asked for it!"

The young brown wolf broke into a run closer and closer toward Lilly. He froze at the sight of the slumbering pair.

"Oh."

 _'Go away. Please!'_ Lilly silently pleaded.

The cute stranger cocked his head to the side as he continued to eye up the pair of sleeping pups. Despite her hope that he would leave the three of them alone, Lilly couldn't help but enjoy the eye candy. He clearly was strong young wolf. Maybe even an alpha. He was sure to grow up into such a strong, handsome wolf. Maybe she should introduce herself and get to know him. Draw the attention away from her sleeping companions.

Yet, somehow she remained where she was, unable to move. Her body simply refused to move for her. Maybe it was because of how shy she was around strangers, or maybe because of how cute he looked just standing there in thought.

She was broken out of her thoughts as he padded forward to stand in front of the sleeping pups. "Huh... Never seen you two before." He took a sniff then continued to speak softly to himself. "You smell like you're from the Western Pack. Maybe I'll just let to sleep this time. But I had better not see you two again on my dad's land. He might not like it." With that he strode away.

Lilly's eyes fixed upon the swish of his tail and the way his hips worked those powerful muscles. It was mesmerizingly wonderful and she found her head bobbing along to the slight wiggle. _'Can I please take you home with me?'_ Sadly her voice completely failed her and all too quickly, Lilly lost sight of him as he disappeared into the trees on the opposite side of the clearing once more. She sighed. That was a close one.

 _'A shame I had to freeze like that though. I would have liked to at least catch his name.'_

Lilly padded over to the sleeping 'couple' "Sis... wake up." She prodded her sisters back repetitively with a forepaw in the hope that the sleeping wolf would wake up.

The golden wolf mumbled something under her breath along the lines of 'five more minutes' and cuddled up closer to Humphrey.

A white tail swatted the ground in annoyance. Lilly's ears perked up, checking the surrounds for any unwelcome movement. Moderately confident that no wolves were in the area, she tried once more with more volume. "Wake up, our mom can see you two."

"I said-" Kate's murmur cut short as the golden wolf registered what had been said and she shot up off the ground standing over Humphrey defensively. "Mom! it's not what it looks like, I swear!"

Lilly giggled at the cute defensive show. "It looked like you were sleeping with your mate."

"Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep!" complained Humphrey, his forepaws wrapping around Kate's midriff once more as he fought to keep his eyes closed.

Meanwhile, Kate continued to search frantically for her mother, who was somehow nowhere to be seen. Her eyes came to rest on her giggling sister and she calmed, "mom's not here is she?"

"Hmm? oh no. I just had to wake you guys and you were so busy cuddling and snuggling that you wouldn't listen to anything else." she said smiling sweetly as she gave her sister an innocent look.

Kate's muzzle heated up while she attempted her best to look innocently back at her sister. "I'm allowed to have a snooze with my best friend, am I not?"

"I guess, but do you really wrap your paws around, hug and nuzzle into your best friend? Last time I checked that's what lovers do, not friends" Lilly replied smartly.

"I- We... Humphrey here is my best friend, nothing is going on between us!" insisted Kate.

At the sound of his name, Humphrey awoke enough to realise that the day so far had not been a dream. "Hey there beautiful," he grinned cheekily up at Kate and gave her a tight hug.

"well, I think that's the answer to my question right there." Lilly barely suppressed a laugh.

"Good one Humphrey," Kate sighed.

"What did I do?" asked the young omega, then he yawned and collapsed on the plush side of his best friend.

"Please, sis you cant tell anyone if you do we'll forbidden from seeing each other." Kate begged her sister, hoping that she would be on her and Humphrey's side.

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone, I-I really don't mind. I just followed you two to make sure mom didn't find out. She might not like seeing you with an omega like that," Lilly stated nervously.

"Thanks, Lilly, but let me worry about mom."

"It can't be that bad right?" ever the optimist, Humphrey smiled at the two sisters, doing his best to lift the mood. The snuggled up omega knew he had missed some of the conversation, but still felt like he needed to say something.

Kate gave Humphrey a blank look "Humphrey this is our mother we're talking about, do you remember what happened to the last wolf that even looked at me wrong?"

Humphrey cringed and covered his private area with his paws, "of course!"

"Well, anyway, um... I woke you two lovebirds up so that we could get back to our pack before the hunting party gets back." Lilly spoke up, eager to forget the previous line of conversation.

"Right, we don't want everyone to wonder were we," Kate led off, Humphrey quick to find his place at her side.

Lilly followed a respectable distance behind the couple. She occasionally would glance back toward the lake. It would have been nice to get one last look at that handsome young wolf.

After a couple of moments of walking in peace and quiet, Kate chose to break the silence. "So Lilly, what did you do whilst we were asleep? I mean by the position of the sun I'd say we were out for an hour at least." The young alpha gave her best friend a nuzzle. She relished the feel of his unkempt fur against the side of her face.

"Oh, nothing really. It took me ages to find you two... then after I took a drink I decided to wake you two up," an apparently random sigh escaped the albino wolf as she once again found her thoughts captivated by the amazing young alpha male she had found. ' _He was perfect. I wish I could have taken him home with me.._.'

"Okay, so you didn't see any other wolves?" Kate glanced back at her sister, curious.

"Why?"

"Oh nothing, I just thought I smelt something like a strange wolf had also wandered close by."

"Oh... uh... maybe it was just an old scent?" Lilly offered.

"Nope. This was definitely new." Kate replied and noticed a second soft sigh as her sister slowed her pace.

"Well." Lilly paused. "I uh..." she trailed off as her gaze fell to the receding clearing.

"You did see someone?"

"Um... well you see. He..." Lilly trailed off, unsure how to even approach the topic of this amazing stranger to the pair in front.

"He? You found yourself a boyfriend?" Humphrey laughed.

"No. I never got to find out his name," Lilly wistfully replied.

"Well, what's he like then?" Kate asked, intrigued by what kind of wolf had her sister so flustered.

"I don't know. I didn't even get to speak to him. I was too busy hiding."

"Oh." Kate allowed silence to take over, unsure how to continue.

As Lilly paced along behind the happy pair in front, the memory of the cute young wolf she had seen on her mind, she discovered her tail was wagging of its own accord. Maybe not entirely by itself, she conceded. If her sister and Humphrey were to spend even more time together, the very least she could do was allow herself to day dream a little. She could picture perfectly his muscular frame and his handsome face. Those amazing, green- "Oof!"

"Are you alright Lilly?" Kate turned to find her sister had tripped over something and fallen face first into the soft grass. That was unlike her usually graceful sister.

"I-I'm fine. My mind just wandered... you know... its nothing." The Albino wolf picked herself up slowly.

The young alpha decided to try another avenue of information collecting as she made her way over to her sister in case she was needed. "Okay, well if there's anything you need help with, just remember that I'm here."

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me," Lilly smiled back at her sister.

"Well, if you ever want to make a trip out here to see him, we could take you," Humphrey offered. "Kate seems to know the way."

"Why both of us?" questioned the golden alpha, although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Well, I cant miss a chance at hanging out with the prettiest wolf I've ever seen now can I?" Humphrey put on his best charming look.

Kate rolled her eyes at the compliment while her sister giggled.

"But I don't know when he goes to the water hole," Lilly quietly spoke up, uncertain.

"Right. Doesn't mean you cant try though." Humphrey replied.

The young alpha decided to take over with what she hoped was a better offer. "The next morning off the three of us get off, we could go down and check. You never know, you might get lucky and see your new friend again."

"That sounds good," agreed Lilly.

"Water fight. Two teams," announced Humphrey.

"What?" Both sisters stared at the scheming omega.

A light grey forepaw pointed to the white wolf in front of him, "you and your new friend against Kate and I. It'll be fun!"

"But what happens if he doesn't know what fun is?" Kate shot back.

"Of course he'll know what fun is," Humphrey insisted. "All wolves our age know!"

"If we get to see him, you can ask for that water fight. But be prepared to be turned down this fast," an orange tail swatted Humphrey in the face to illustrate the point.

The blow failed to remove the smile from the playful omega's muzzle. From the silly look that had just appeared upon his face, Kate was sure a second blow would be just as ineffective against her special friend. Rather than grace Humphrey with further contact the young alpha took off at a steady pace.

"We still need to get back before the hunt is over," Kate reminded her two companions as she picked up speed.

"I'll race you back!" Humphrey challenged the two females.

"You're on!" Kate accepted her friend's challenge and immediately claimed the lead.

"Wait for me you two!" Lilly cried as she sprinted off after the duo.

Despite her weaker appearance, the albino wolf gave quickly took the lead from Humphrey. She gracefully ducked and weaved through the forest. Her paws never slipped nor slid, for she was at home under the cover of the trees.

Determined to not lose to her sister, Kate unleashed a burst of speed. She easily blew past her best friend, all four paws drummed against the earth as she ran. The young alpha relished the feeling of speeding through the forest. It was exciting, it was fun. Sure alphas were not supposed to be having fun, but she was with two omegas. Her two best friends within the pack.

The powerful young she-wolf drew up alongside her sister, then claimed the lead as she leapt over a fallen log.

Humphrey, who at first was surprised at the speed of the females, quickly shook off the feeling and began to run up a hidden elevated path ' _perk of being the omega leader'_ he thought ' _I know every shortcut_ ' he glanced to his right to check he was passing the girls easily from his elevated position "see you at the feeding grounds!" he yelled and continued forward laughing to himself.

"Come, on. Lets chase after him!" Kate yelled to her sister

"You can chase your 'future mate' all you want," Lilly panted slightly, a cheeky grin on her face as she fought to keep up with her sister.

"Uhh..." Kate scoffed at her younger sibling and rolled her eyes, she hoped her sister would leave them alone when they reached the rest of the pack. "Fine, I'll go after him then."

The young alpha leapt up the steep slope to reach her best friend. Her first few strides found purchase and she rocketed toward the top. With only a few feet to go, her back paws slipped and Kate knew she surely would slide all the way back down and lose the race and probably hurt herself quite badly too.

Two grey paws fell on top of the golden ones that were quickly losing their grip on the rocks of the slope.

"Humphrey?"

"Take the tail!" with a strong press, he planted her forepaws into the earth and quickly spun around.

As soon as the bushy grey tail ticked Kate's golden nose, she bit down on it.

"Awwouch! No so hard!" cried Humphrey as he pulled his companion up. "Remind me to never let you pull my tail again, cause that hurt." He turned to investigate his fluffy appendage for signs of damage and was relieved to find no obvious signs of damage.

Kate offered a thankful nuzzle to her companion, "Feel ready for more fun? I want to catch my sister."

"I'd say we've lost," Humphrey grinned back.

The competitive young alpha realised they had wasted too much time and could indeed never catch her speedy sibling. She leaned in close, her tail found his and wrapped around the sore spot like a big fluffy bandage.

"Who cares, it gives us more time together, alone," Kate nudged Humphrey playfully.

With a delighted grin, the young omega nuzzled his companion back. "So, we got lost for a while and I had to save you." the young omega asked, checking that their cover-story was correct.

"We're not lost," Kate innocently grinned back. "Just taking a detour after I nearly slipped down a mountain."

"Ok fine, we took a detour and then I saved you?" Humphrey replied sarcastically.

"No, we took a detour second, after I nearly slipped. You don't want the future alpha wolf of the pack falling to her death do you?" Kate slowly strode off, head held high.

The young omega hurried to keep up, "more like, I don't want my future alpha to hurt herself, do I?"

"No, you don't," Kate gave her companion a cheeky lick upon the muzzle.

The pair walked in silence for a few moments before Humphrey spoke up once more. "Say, Kate... would you. I don't know... be willing to come to the moonlight howl with me in a few nights time?"

"Humphrey I can't. I'm not allowed to, you know that! Besides, were too young!" Kate said giving the young omega a sorry look, hoping to ease the rejection slightly

The grey youngster gave a pouty face back, "but it would be amazing... you... me... together." Humphrey put a foreleg around his companion's shoulder hoping to add weight to his point.

Kate sighed, "Humphrey, you know that if I could then I would but I can't, It's against pack law." she finished.

"So, we find a spot where the other's won't see us." Humphrey pleaded, getting desperate for a chance to howl with her

"Still a no."

A long, slow sigh escaped from the young omega. It appeared as if some things would have to wait. He resolved to continue his efforts until they did howl together. She would be sure to say yes eventually. A slight rumble in his tummy reminded him of something most important. He withdrew his foreleg from its place on his companion's shoulders and upped the pace. "We should really be getting back you know, if we don't hurry we'll miss today's meal!"

The golden wolf giggled at the low sound from her companions tum tum. A hungry young omega? Of course he was. "You realise that is so not going to stop my mum checking you were behaving. You have more of my scent on your than ever."

"Well, no time for a bath. I'll just tell her we were playing all day."

"Probably best to leave out the part where we went to sleep," agreed Kate before she upped the pace once again

"Yeah" Humphrey replied, quickening his pace to match his friends "I like my skin and plan to keep it for quite a while." he said, cringing, at the thoughts of what Kate's mum might do to him if she found out about their relationship with each other

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't hurt you." Kate said, nuzzling into Humphreys neck, sensing that he was a bit uncomfortable with the thoughts of her mother skinning him alive, and in all honest, who could blame him?

"You're not the one who has to fear the angry mother."

"Well, she does sort of raise you too sometimes," Kate reminded her companion matter-of-factly. "So I can't imagine her doing anything too bad to you."

"Yeah, so those threats of neutering me and ripping my tail off were complete jokes?" Humphrey asked

"Those were nothing compared to the rest of the boys. Why do you think you're my only male friend?" Kate smiled happily.

"And there I thought I was scaring them off," Humphrey joked back.

"Between you and my mother, it's no wonder I never get to talk to the boys."

"Those guys are a bad influence, trust me," Humphrey replied.

"And you're any better?" she questioned, laughing as Humphrey struggled for a reply.

"I'm their leader..." the grey wolf grinned slyly.

"And what about the rest? You can't exactly say that Candu and Hutch listen to your orders now can you?" Kate leaned in toward her companion, eager to see what sort of excuse would follow.

"You don't want to get to know those guys... They're too serious," Humphrey waved the question away.

"I like serious," Kate stated simply.

"HEY!" Humphrey yelled, jealousy flared in his clear blue eyes.

"I'm kidding, you're the only one for me." Kate nuzzled into his fur, bringing his temper down after her little joke

"Is that you Humphrey!?" The voice of Salty rang out.

"Of course it's him!" Mooch boomed out.

The pair separated in time for a wolf pile to land on Humphrey.

"Hey guys," greeted Humphrey as he extracted himself from his friends.

"Well hello to you too." Salty greeted as he got to his feet and eyed the pair before him suspiciously. "Where have you been dude? We were supposed to try our new tricks out today."

"Ahh sorry guys, I forgot me and Kate decided to swing by our play area and play tag."

"Yea, you two were gone for the whole day, that must have been quite a few games of tag," Shakey added, raising his eyebrows to hint at an extra meaning.

"Yea, Kate and I were just on our way to get some food." Humphrey dusted himself off.

"You weren't getting up to anything naughty were you?" Salty inquired

Kate's eyes went as wide as a full moon as she immediately understood what his friends were implying "No. Of course not, we were just off playing like we always do." Humphrey replied innocently, unaware of the connotations of what naughty involved.

"Okay, then what were you two talking about just then?" Shakey took over the questions from his fellow omega.

"Just... best friend kinda stuff..." Humphrey trailed off, unsure how exactly to answer the sensitive question.

"We were talking about what we were gonna be doing later, after the hunting party returns."

"Oh, they're already there," Mooch rubbed his belly, "mmmmm."

"did you leave any for the other wolves, Mooch?" Humphrey asked his tubby friend

"Aw, come on Humphrey, of course I left you two some. I just had to take my fill first. A poor starving creature like myself needs his food or I'll wilt away..." The overweight wolf pup replied.

Humprey's tummy chose that moment to rumble like distant thunder.

"I think someone else needs to eat before they starve," the young golden alpha smirked at her friend.

"You got me, I'm hungry. Let's get going already," Humphrey lead off, eager to fill his tummy and be rid of his friend's questions about himself and Kate.

As the group walked through the woods on the final leg to the feeding grounds, Salty had one last question for the duo. "Hey, Humphrey. What were you and Kate doing back there anyways, I saw her nuzzle you for some reason."

"Oh that, that was nothing, I hurt myself and Kate was trying to make me feel better." He grinned as he cast a sideways glance at Kate to confirm his story.

"Yea? You sly dog. You don't look hurt at all!" Salty laughed.

"You need to watch out for him Kate, soon enough he's gonna be wanting to sleep next to you!" Shakey added.

Kate felt in intense blush incoming. Not only were they more than they appeared, but it was also a regular happening for her and Humphrey to sleep next to each other in her parents den. It had been that way since his parents disappeared. While he was soon to move out into his own place, Kate knew they had at least one more week of enjoying nights together.

"Yea, then he might want to do this," Mooch jumped on Shakey and pinned him to the ground with his immense bulk. The pair then rolled over laughing as they pretended to be cuddling.

"And pretty soon he'll be doin' this," salty said, grabbing an invisible partner and kissing them deeply

"This is why I never hang around you guys when I'm with Kate!" Humprey retorted, thoroughly embarrassed.

"But it's fun teasing you two," Salty replied with a cheeky grin.

"Yea, you guys make it too easy," Shakey added.

"It's like you two already have something goin' on," Mooch mused in a deep thoughtful tone.

"Mooch, we have about as much going on, as you have something goin on with a diet." Humphrey shot back, both defensively and playfully.

"I have a lot going on with my diet," the fat pup defended his healthy eating choices.

Shakey burst out laughing at that response. "Yea, only cause you're on a see food diet!"

"Yeah, I see food and I eat it." he said as all 3 of the omegas fell into a laughing fit

Kate shook her head, an amused smile upon her muzzle. "Omegas" She said to herself. She was deeply thankful that the topic had been diverted from her and Humphrey.

The group exited the forest and found themselves at the feeding grounds.

As Humprey and Kate trotted over to grab a bite to eat the trio of trouble stayed behind near the forests exit.

"You know... it would be kinda cute to see them cuddling," Mooch mused aloud.

"You mean that would be the craftiest thing ever," laughed Salty as the group got into a rather suspicious looking group huddle.

"We all know Humphrey is a sly dog and he likes Kate. Any bets on how long it will take for us to catch them snuggling or sleeping together?" Salty whispered to his two companions.

The three omegas glanced up at the pair who had just selected their own portions.

"I don't think it will happen. I mean, he is an omega like us and Kate's an alpha. They just aren't allowed to become an item when they grow up," Shakey

"Doesn't mean Humphrey won't try something," Salty replied. "Everyone's told him like.. a hundred times that they won't work. I bet you guys, three weeks and we will catch them."

"My bet is still nothing happens," Shakey muttered back.

"Mooch?" The two omegas asked their remaining companion for his bet.

"Well...just look at them now, they're so close it could happen in the next few days."

"That's your bet? A few days?" chucked Shakey.

"Yep. We jus' gotta keep a close eye on them. Youse can see it, Kate likes him back... watch." The chubby omega pointed toward the pair. The watching trio spotted a pair of young beta wolves as they too entered the feeding grounds.

One of the young betas walked behind Humphrey and yelled "hey, you waste of space omega, wait your turn, you're probably making Kate lose her appetite!" the wolf named Candu who was behind him bit his tail and yanked him away from the caribou

"Hey shove off you two," Kate defended her companion. A growl escaped her muzzle as she stood and took up a defensive stance between her friend and his beta tormentors.

"Oh look, he's not even strong enough to sand up for himself," the wolf behind Candu, Hutch commented.

Candu smiled back at Kate, "we don't want any trouble. We're only here to remind this lowly omega not to eat till after the alpha wolves and beta wolves have eaten."

"But you all have eaten, right?" Humphrey protectively hid his tail.

"We have, yes. But Kate is an alpha and you should show her the respect she deserves," Candu replied haughtily.

"I asked him to eat with me. He's my friend," the golden wolf tried her best to reason with the two beta wolves.

"Kate it doesn't matter if you invited him, he should still wait his turn." Candu said staring daggers at Humphrey, who continued to hide behind Kate.

The future leader turned to look at the wolf whom she was protecting. "It matters to me," she softly replied. It was starting to look like tradition had won out once more.

"Look guys... it's fine. I'll eat after her. Now can you leave us alone?" Humphrey pleaded

"We weren't talking to you, you useless orphan," Candu snarled, distress rippled across Humphrey's face.

"Hey! say that word one more time and I swear I will get my mother to rip you to shreds and scatter you across the VALLEY!

Candu smiled back, "but your parents like us. They know how things work."

"My mother might not like you when she finds out you've been bullying another wolf."

'You mother might not like seeing you with this... low creature. Maybe she could even do our job for us," retorted Candu as he took a step aggressively toward the pair in front of him.

"You know, you could always spend some time with us, get to know some wolves who aren't just omegas. My friend here is usually very nice," Hutch added, trying to sound reasonable.

"Pass," Kate turned her back on the pair, her fur still on end as she continued to hold herself, ready for trouble. She gave a small smile to the omega at her forepaws, then poked him with her nose, indicating for him to move.

Still hunched over his tail, Humphrey obeyed his companion without question. As much as he wanted to cuddle up close, he knew that would only serve to set the two young beta wolves off. Humphrey held off from his food while he waited for his companions next move. He realised it was all down to the two wolves who continued to stare at him. The wounded tail smarted and reminded its owner that more pain would be a bad thing. Hopefully the one who hurt his lovely tail would leave soon.

Kate sat and resumed her meal, she completely ignored the duo who stood behind her, supervising the nervous omega. She felt sorry for Humphrey, they had been enjoying the meal together before the two ignorant beta's barged in.

Kate soon finished her fill and passed the remains of her leg across to her companion with a cheeky smile, "There you go. I'm _finished_ ," the alpha made sure to emphasise the word finished for the benefit of their audience.

"If you ever find yourself looking for something more than just the company of lowly omegas, I'm sure we are easy to find," Candu offered as the group turned and left the odd duo alone.

At the edge of the forest, three sets of eyes could hardly believe what they had beheld. The trio of trouble turned to face each other.

"Well that was interesting..." commended Shakey.

"Yea, you can say that again," Mooch whispered loudly.

"I wish I had someone to protect me when that ... Candu picks on me," Shakey added.

"Hey, guys did you see that?" Salty whispered, pointing out toward where the pair continued to sit.

"No, what?" Mooch asked, his attention now upon the eating Humphrey and his companion.

"I'm sure I just saw Kate take a bite out of the leg she passed Humphrey," Salty kept his eyes glued to the pair, hopeful that he would catch the cheeky act once more.

The trio of omegas were soon to be disappointed as Kate allowed her companion to finish without further incident. The pair promptly left, cruising off for the den together like the best friends they were.

"Should we catch up to them?" Shakey asked hopefully.

"Na, let them be. I want to see if sly old Humphrey will score himself his best friend, he's not exactly gonna make a move if we're following him around like lost pups all day now is he?" Salty replied.

"Let's get home too then," Mooch prompted as he stood and stretched. "Nap time is best after food time... and that caribou was tasty."

 ** _AN:_**

 _Special thanks to TH3L0N3W01F. He helped with the writing of the first draft of the story so far and many of his ideas have continued to influence the story for the better. And thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter. Because of you few, I decided to hurry up and get this one completed too._


	5. Chapter 5

Two young wolves rounded the mountainside to the den they called home. As they were about to make their way inside, Eve and Winston walked out to greet them.

"Hello dears, Lilly said you would be home soon," Eve smiled, delighted to see her alpha daughter and her adoptive son had arrived.

The white omega wolf gave the pair a welcoming shy smile as she trailed her parents.

"Had fun today I assume?" Winston gave the pair a hug before he allowed his wife to follow.

"Yes, dad," Kate said as her mother walked towards them

Eve quickly gave the pair a hug, much like her husband had done. As she pulled away, the alpha mother thought she smelt more of Kate's scent on Humphrey than his own.

"I do hope my daughter didn't have too much fun. You're supposed to be an alpha. A leader of the pack," she took the chance to get in close and fuss over her daughter's coat for a moment to give her nose a chance to do its work once more.

Kate allowed her mother to finish before she replied, "I know mom."

The matriarch eyed the pair carefully. "Since Humphrey will be moving out soon, I have decided that the two of you will sleep on opposite sides of the den until then. I would hate to wake up in the middle of the night to find the two of you together. If that happens someone may find himself with an injury and we don't want that now do we?"

Humphrey swallowed nervously. "Yes, okay. You're the boss."

"Thank you, dear." Eve smiled as she led the way inside.

* * *

The sun rose over Jasper Park to another peaceful morning. Many of the wolves of the Western Pack were already up and moving. It was a morning of fun and games for the omegas and work as usual for the alphas and beta wolves.

Elsewhere, on the Eastern Pack's territory, a young brown pup was doing his best to ignore the sun's call to start another day of pack life.

"Good morning son. Time to wake up."

"Five more minutes..." Mumbled the pup.

Tony sighed. "Son, I don't care what you're dreaming about. Get up!"

"But dad!" Garth protested as his father's paw flipped him over right into the ray of morning light that entered their den.

"It was such a good dream too..." complained the alpha pup as he cracked an eye open to glare up at his father.

Tony stood over his son and poked his nose right into the creamy tummy. He blew softly through his nose until he felt his son squirm a little. With a smile forming on his muzzle Tony pressed home his attack. He drew slow movements around the plush creamy fur, his breath strong and steady, a mighty gust from a mighty alpha.

Giggles erupted into full-on laughter as the youngster kicked and squirmed harder. "Dad! Stop- Stop!"

Tony withdrew in victory, his gaze still fixed upon the greatest bundle of joy in his world.

Garth's breathing came ragged and fast as he fought to regain control of his body. As soon as he settled down he spotted the look on his father's face and his grin disappeared. "Daaad. You know I don't like it when you give me that look."

"I'm sorry son. But you're the best thing I have left in this world."

Garth let out a slow breath of annoyance, "yea. I know, but-"

"Which is why I don't want you to be sleeping in anymore. You are destined to be an alpha, the future leader of this pack. Even young Claws is out there already and she's only a beta wolf."

"I'm still the strongest." Garth protested, he flexed his muscles a bit to help remind his dad.

"Then you must keep up your training and not let anything get in your way. I'm off to a meeting with the Western Pack. There's something I must discuss with Winston. Meanwhile, I'm placing Keith in charge."

"Why him?" Garth wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Because he's a very keen alpha and despite his issues, he's one of my best wolves."

"Well, can't you place Lyle or Link in charge?" Garth asked, hopefully.

"Those two are coming with me."

"Okay." Garth fell into silence, content to bask in the sun for a few more moments.

"I expect you to listen to Keith, okay?" Tony gave his son a look to make sure he understood.

"It's King." The dark brown wolf announced as his shadow cut Garth's sunbathing short.

"A self-proclaimed name. I will call you by the same name your mother did." Tony replied calmly.

"But that's not the name of a real alpha. King is my name!" Keith insisted.

Garth sat up to face the wolf who now completely blocked the nice warm sun he had been enjoying. "Well if you want to be an alpha in my pack, I won't ever call you King. That's a dumb name for a wolf. Now get out of my sunlight."

Tony wore an amused look upon his muzzle as allowed his son to take charge. He shifted his gaze to his son then back to the wolf who blocked the entrance of their cave. This was going to be a most interesting day.

* * *

Elsewhere in Jasper, another alpha wolf was about ready to head off to the impending meeting.

"I have a very important meeting to attend with the Alpha wolves of the surrounding packs. Enjoy yourselves, but no wandering off. There will be fewer Alphas around to protect you all while I am away." Winston addressed the trio assembled before him.

"Okay, Dad," Kate replied.

"And I want to see you all back here before sundown," Eve added.

"Yes ma'am, sundown, I got it," Humphrey said then quickly walked down the slope, away from Alphas cave with Kate and Lilly in tow. He was eager to get out an enjoy the day.

Winston waited until the young ones were out of sight before he turned to his wife "you know, Humphrey really seems to like Kate an awful lot." Winston chucked softly.

"Yes I noticed and if he does anything to her I'm going to rip off his wolf-hood and then I'm going to rip out his eyeballs and shove them down his throat so he can watch me TEAR HIS CARCASS OPEN!" eve yelled, breathing heavily

Winston waited patiently while his wife calmed down. This was sadly the expected reaction and Eve was sure to need just a few moments to come back down to Jasper.

After a few more moments, Winston decided it was okay to continue, "he's already looked at her in several ways. Not that I imagine that young pup has any idea why. He seems to be the most innocent pup I've ever met. They also live together most of the time."

Eve growled fiercely as she imagined that omega ogling her daughter.

"Do you want me to go and keep an eye on them?" softly asked Lilly. Both parents suddenly realised she must have wandered back and now stood tentatively outside the cave.

Eve wiped the surprise off her face and replaced it with a big smile, "I think that is a lovely idea. Darling, run along and if Humphrey does anything he should not be doing with Kate, you be sure to tell me, ok?"

"Yes mother," the white omega replied then gracefully left at a slow run to catch up to her two companions.

"You know.. I've also caught Kate looking back at Humphrey quite a few times." Winston commented as soon as he was sure his younger daughter was out of earshot.

That clearly got the alpha she wolf's attention and a low growl escaped. "What?"

The grey alpha laughed softly at his wife's reaction, "don't act like you've never seen her do it. They like each other, that much is obvious and I think its cute. But they are growing pups and soon enough the time will come for her to attend alpha school. Then we can both teach her the importance of following pack law and how to become a true alpha."

This calmed the crazy alpha down and she soon appeared level-headed enough to reply to her mate. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Eve slowly approached her powerful companion and gave a thankful nuzzle. "In the meantime, I hope he keeps his paws off our daughter. I would hate to have an ex-male in the pack."

"That would be a disaster," agreed Winston softly as he gazed out of his den to the stunning world around that his pack called home. "They're pups. I don't think they will get up to anything too silly. Besides, we have Lilly with them to keep an eye on things."

"I hope they don't fall in love and try and become mates... I don't know what I would do," Eve wandered outside and sat down at the edge of their small cliff.

"I think I know what you would do," Winston replied softly as he joined his wife overlooking their land.

"Oh yeah? and what would that be?" Eve questioned, curious about her husband's thoughts.

"Well, something about claws, neutering and probably some tearing to shreds in there too," Winston replied with a laugh.

"Please, don't make fun of me when I'm in a rage dear, you know I was being dead serious," Eve huffed.

Winston, who's eyes were currently the size of saucers, quickly shook off the shock of the fact that his wife would do something so horrible to a pup. "Well, I do think that if Humphrey were an alpha, they would make a cute couple."

"His parents expressed their desire for him to be an omega." Eve reminded her husband, "I for one see no reason to change that."

Winston nodded thoughtfully as he wandered to gaze over to where their young ones were playing.

"You must have missed what I told some of the other youngsters who looked at our daughter. Then you would understand that I'm going easy on Humphrey because he's lived with us for most of his life and is Kate's best friend." Eve stated as she followed her husband and lay comfortably down beside him.

"So, that's why none of the other wolves even look at her?" Winston asked his wife.

"Yes," Eve made no attempts at hiding the pride in her voice at the accomplishment of keeping her daughter free of the males, well most of them.

* * *

Garth stood tall and proud on top of the rock above his family den. This rock allowed the young alpha to survey the smaller hills around which housed the other members of his pack. One day, all this and more would be his. The tough pup puffed out his chest and imagined himself as the head of the pack.

As his mind wandered future prospects, from leading hunts to bossing Keith and his buddies around, Garth allowed himself to wonder what sort of mate he would have at his side. Someone beautiful. Someone smart. Someone unique. She would be a funny wolf who could make him laugh or cry. Someone who could help with the packs running and join him in hunts. An Alpha's alpha. She would have to be from outside his own pack though because no one here was mate material for someone as awesome as Garth.

Another thought crossed his mind. That almost sounded like his father's description of his mother...

Mother.

The one wolf he had heard so much about yet, he could not personally remember anything about her. It was a real shame. All of a sudden, his heart ached with a force that killed his mighty pose. Was his mother looking down on him right now? Was she proud of him? Would she want him to grow up and find a special wolf who's traits matched her own? Hopefully, whoever that someone was, she would not die in pup birth like his own mother. Because he was sure that just like his dad, he too could not pick a new mate.

Sort of like the two cuties he found yesterday. They sure looked like they were destined for a long life together.

Yet again, Garth found himself feeling like he was missing out on something.

 _'What about that white fluff yesterday? She looked cute.'_

Garth frowned as he did his best to cast his mind back to the moment he had come upon the young sleeping couple. He knew he had spotted hints of a white wolf hiding rather poorly in a bush some way off. Although then again, if your coat was white, it was bound to be next to impossible to hide in a forest filled with greens and browns. Maybe it would have been better to talk to her rather than the sleeping couple who so easily claimed his attention. The trio smelt like they were from the Western pack.

 _'I should have asked_ father _if he could ask the Western alpha if there was any young white alpha's in his pack, maybe I might have gotten lucky. Oh well...'_

"Hey! Garth!"

'Wha-' Garth snapped out of his own thoughts only to realise it was just his fellow pups, Claws and Scar before him. "Hey, whats up?"

"We were just wondering. Do you want to come and train with us?" Claws asked.

"Do I?" Garth leapt gracefully off his perch to stand with the duo. "I was just waiting for you two."

"Really? I thought you were eyeing up your father's land and daydreaming." Scar smirked at his future leader.

"It's dad's land. So, one day this will all be mine and I will be the strongest and kindest and most awesome alpha in the land!" Garth smiled back then took off.

"Let's get him," Claws smile turned a tad vicious as her gaze followed their friend and leader.

"Race ya!"

Both pups took off after their leader like beta wolves after their prey.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 **Special thanks to imjustlikehumphery for giving constant support for the story thus far and helping me bounce ideas around.**  
 **I also want to thank TH3L0N3W01F for his suggestion for King's name.**

 **Thoughts? Feedback? General comments?**  
 **Nice to see more of Garth?**


	6. Chapter 6

The late day sun in Jasper shone over two pups as they ran up the highest mountain's trail, headed for the peak. "Come on Kate, I want to show you something!" Humphrey called out as he took off.

"Okay, want to tell me what this something is?"

"No. I'm pretty sure you'll like it when I show you though."

"It had better not be anything dangerous," Kate warned her companion who simply grinned confidently back.

The pair continued onwards up the hill in silence for a few moments till they reached a plateau with a rock that jutted out to give a grand view of the surrounding land.

"What's so special about this place?" Kate wondered out loud as she sat and gazed out across the parkland.

"Oh, nothing I guess," the young omega jumped up on top of the rock and grinned down at his companion.

Humphrey leapt up onto his hind legs, pointed his right forepaw at his audience while in his left forepaw he held an imaginary mic. "Alright my good looking audience, you're in for the show of your life," he stated as he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Kate giggled at his small display, "I should've bought some popcorn, this could be entertaining."

"Of course it will be entertaining," Humphrey grinned back. "Alright, here I go!"

He launched himself into the air and pulled off a neat back-flip before landing on one hind paw. He balanced for a few moments before preparing for more action. With a powerful push, he thrust himself into the air once more. This time he landed on one of his forepaws, splaying out the rest of his limbs for flair.

Kate felt the hair on the back of her stand up for some reason as she admired the silly sight before her. What was he trying to achieve with this display? Or was he simply being funny?

The young wolf continued to leap around the rock, each time he landed in some unusual position that was sure to be some spur of the moment thing. Most of his antics made Kate giggle and the pair frequently exchanged winks and Humphrey kept throwing in the odd dumb face which only added to his audience's laughter.

"Hi you two," Lilly greeted the show-off and his audience of one.

Kate froze while Humphrey jumped in surprise, "uh-oh" was the last thing he managed before the show-off fell from his perch with a loud thud and a yelp.

"Humphrey!" a suddenly worried Kate rushed forward to check her partner for injury.

"I'm okay," the overconfident young wolf went as if to stand, only to collapse once more onto the soft earth. "Maybe I'm not okay..." he lay at the base of the boulder and weakly allowed Kate to investigate for probable injury.

The concerned golden wolf suddenly felt along the side of her partner's body as he continued to lie in place, soft moans of agony occasionally escaped whenever a tender spot was found. As Kate reached the shaggy neck of the injured wolf, his head turned to face her. They lightly bumped noses before Kate pulled away in surprise.

"Do that again please..."

"What? This?" the golden alpha leaned forwards and once again touched noses with her partner.

Humphrey hummed contentedly before his companion pulled away, "I think I feel better already..."

"Mom would have just killed you if she caught you two doing that, you know," the quiet voice of Lilly broke the moment as she approached.

"Hey, it's not my fault I fell. You distracted me!" Humphrey replied indignantly.

"Me?" Lilly innocently asked, "oh I'm sorry. Mom and dad sent me to make sure you two don't get up to anything."

"I take it we were not supposed to know that?" Kate replied dryly.

"Maybe... but you're my sister too." Lilly answered softly, "so... what is Humphrey doing on that rock?"

"Me, nothing. Just something for Kate," the grey omega did his best to play his performance off as nothing as he tried and failed to stand.

Kate nosed underneath the downed wolf and with a careful flick of her muzzle, she brought him into a seated position where he could lie against her side. Delight overcame the pain on Humphrey's face as he relaxed into his helper's soft coat.

"I guess I'll just tell mom I saw nothing then," Lilly wandered off to sit at a distance so the couple could enjoy their own private space. While her eyes never left the pair of wolves in front of her, the albino allowed her mind to wander back to the handsome wolf she had spotted earlier. She wished she had been bold enough to ask for his name. Anything to make it easier to find him again. Lilly paid no attention to Humphrey's words as the pair began talking once more.

"Say, Kate... I hope you don't mind looking after a poor wounded wolf for a few days?" Humphrey failed to suppress a cheeky grin that spread like wildfire across his face.

"And who might that be?" a giggle escaped as Kate smiled back.

"Only a bold, amazing-" Humphrey started to boast

"Showoff such as yourself?" Kate keenly cut in.

"No, I am not." Humphrey defended, "well, maybe just a little."

Kate giggled "come on 'superstar' we still have a bit of time before we need to head home, and I know exactly how to spend it," she told him and began to help him to his feet

"So Kate, where do we get to go? Someplace as cool as here?" Humphrey teased as he leaned lightly against the side of his companion.

"That rock you were on looks like it has a nice view. Come on, I'll help you up!"

As the pair mounted the rock, they heard the soft pitter-patter of paws as Lilly joined them. The trio lay down upon the still warm surface. Humphrey closed his eyes as he rested against the soft side of the alpha wolf he was lucky enough to call his best friend. A contented sigh escaped as he relaxed into her side, knowing this would be the closest contact they would be likely to share for the rest of the day.

After a few peaceful moments, Kate broke the silence, "how about we play a little game?"

Two sets of ears perked up at the mention and Humphrey spoke up, "what sort of game?"

"Well, since my dad is going to be out of our territory for a few days that almost makes me lead alpha."

"But mom's still here." Lilly quietly added.

Kate shot her sister a look, "for this game, I'll be the pack's alpha. Humphrey, Lilly, what do you two want to be?"

"I can be your amazing companion." Humphrey was quick to add.

Lilly gazed off into the distance for a few moments. Her mind wandered back to the amazing wolf she had seen and an idea struck. _'This would be even better if he were here...'_

All eyes settled on Lilly as she slowly turned her attention back to the wolves in front of her. "How about... I'll be the alpha of the pack. My mate, a handsome, charming wolf with the strength of five wolves is currently away visiting his father in another, nearby pack. You two can be my beta wolves and-" she paused for effect. "Since you are both the same rank and like each other in a special way, you are to be mates once you grow up to become big, funny omegas."

Humphrey and Kate shared a glance. Did they hear that right?

"You want to play alpha?" Kate chuckled. "This will be interesting."

Humphrey sat up eagerly, "oh, I wanna be your fun loving omega! Then I can make it my job to show you how to have fun."

Lilly's gaze mischievously locked onto her sister. "That sounds like a lovely idea. Kate, your an omega too. It is your job to show this alpha-" she squared her shoulders and sat up straighter, "how to have fun."

Kate glanced around to ensure no one else might be watching then smiled at her sister. "Your command is my wish, oh alpha. And did you say this alpha mate of yours had gone to?"

"To visit his dad in a nearby pack." Lilly's eyes glazed over ever so slightly as she imagined what the handsome wolf could be doing in whatever nearby pack he was in.

"Looks like your thinking of him right now sis. Do you have something to tell us?"

"Uh... no."

"I bet you do," Humphrey smirked.

Lilly took a moment to compose herself. She did her best to once again hold herself like she imagined an alpha would have to. "If the two of you continue to talk to your alpha that way I'll have you thrown off this mountain."

Humphrey and Kate glanced at each other, then back to the stern 'alpha' in front of them. Lilly over hardened her gaze to the point her snout was starting to scrunch up. The two 'omega' wolves burst out laughing.

Lilly cracked a shy smile, then joined in with the laughter. As the trio's mirth subsided Lilly felt compelled to ask, "am I doing okay? That's not too much?"

Kate took a deep breath to try to calm her laughter, "you're doing fine, oh mighty alpha."

Lilly smiled in thanks then once again took on a stoic form, "I order my two omega wolves to give me a show."

"What?" Humphrey

"I saw you performing for my sister. Show me what a cute duo such as yourselves can do." Lilly relaxed, rather pleased with herself.

Kate turned to face her best friend, "well if our mighty leader demands it..."

"I guess we fun loving omegas will have to show her what we can do!"

* * *

"Hey look," Hutch was quick to duck into cover as he looked over at the trio on the peak.

Can-do peaked out from behind his friend, "looks like they are playing some kind of game."

Hutch and Can-do snickered to each other as they watched the young, shy omega wolf boss their future alpha and her best friend around.

"You know, it's almost like she's bossing a young couple around," Can-do grinned.

"I can't believe that is Lilly, she's usually so timid," chucked Hutch.

"Oh look, I think they are putting on a show. Let's watch," Can-do settled down, ready for the free show.

Unaware of their young watchers, Humphrey and Kate did their best to please their mighty alpha, Lilly. Kate and Humphrey leapt, displayed silly poses together and danced. They kept bumping into one another and occasionally stood on each other's paws in their efforts to tag team. It was all fun and laughter.

All too soon, the show ended.

Hutch and Can-do crept away before their scents could be picked up. Now that the show was over, they didn't need someone taking a good sniff and realising they had company.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I have returned!**

 **Well, I've still been writing. Just went writing cute MLP. I didn't realise just how much time had passed since my last update here last month in Fiji when I was flicking through my in-progress chapters. Next up, my balto story will get a long overdue update too, then I'll try come back to this.  
...providing I haven't lost my readers due to such long inactivity.  
**

 **Hopefully this time I'll not only get the story rolling again, but I aim to actually finish it.**

 **What do you think, have I lost my touch? Or are we good to keep going with this cute tale?**


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